Etherley Lane Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Etherley Lane Nursery has been through a period of significant change since the last inspection. The progress that leaders have made in a short space of time is incredible.

Leaders' sheer determination has been instrumental in securing their high ambitions for all children. Children thrive.

Children love attending Etherley Lane.

They receive a warm welcome from staff who settle them quickly into the daily routines. Children know these routines well. Staff model to children how they want them to behave.

Children learn to respect others. They play well with each other, sharing resources with their friends. Children listen to adults' instructions or req...uests, responding immediately.

They are confident and are ready to learn. Their behaviour is exemplary.

Children are curious.

They ask lots of questions and are keen to get involved in activities. Children like to take on responsibilities such as being 'line leaders'. Sometimes, they like to teach other children.

Parents' views advocate this. One parent commented: 'I have noticed a huge boost in confidence and independent play at home since returning to nursery after the summer. I am very happy with the early years provision and development of my child.'



What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Children benefit from a well-thought-out, broad and ambitious curriculum. Leaders have carefully chosen what they want children to learn, right from the start until they leave nursery. The curriculum designs are precise.

The exact knowledge they want children to learn is broken down with opportunities to revisit this so that children remember what they have learned.

Staff skilfully introduce and model new knowledge during group-time sessions throughout the day. This includes early mathematics.

Staff encourage children to count and use resources to help them. Staff have good subject knowledge. This enables them to plan and deliver activities in the outdoor and indoor areas that capture children's interests.

Children absorb themselves in these activities for long periods of time while using new vocabulary. For example, children eagerly identify and count pinecones and twigs in the woodland area after a group session on counting to five.

Children listen to stories and rhymes that staff have carefully chosen to develop children's language and understanding.

For example, staff teach prepositions such as 'up', 'down', 'over' and 'under' through the rhyme 'Jack and Jill'. Staff frequently read to children throughout the day so that children become familiar with stories. Children listen attentively and show excitement about what is being read.

At the end of the day, children and parents take home the freely accessible books available to them so that they can share stories together at home.

Staff regularly check what children know and understand. If children struggle, extra support is put in place.

This ranges from working with external agencies such as speech and language therapists to staff providing one-to-one support. Leaders review attendance to see how this impacts children's early education. They work with families when attendance is low, with positive outcomes.

There are systems in place to identify children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). While leaders know children who may need support for SEND, for a small number of children, the help that they receive is sometimes not as prompt as it needs to be. The 'short plans' do not have sufficient fine detail for staff to be able to support children very specifically.

Children enjoy a range of wider opportunities such as visits to a farm. These opportunities are carefully chosen by staff to support children to make better sense of the world around them. For example, staff read stories about farm animals asking children to name them and identify what noises the animals make.

Children remember the names of animals and the noises that turkeys make after visiting a farm.

The curriculum promotes children's social and emotional development including how to stay safe in the woodland area, care for animals, be independent and manage their feelings. Children interact well with each other and share.

Children are well prepared for their next stage in learning. The school ensures that children develop their confidence and self-esteem. Children's behaviour is impeccable.

Leaders, including governors, have improved the culture and quality of education dramatically. They have done this in a caring and supportive way with staff. Staff value this and the importance that leaders have given to their professional development.

Staff are confident and eager to improve the education for all. Governors effectively hold leaders to account for all these aspects.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some children with SEND do not receive the specific support that they need quickly enough. This can sometimes slow learning for these children. Leaders need to ensure that the strategies and interventions that they intend to use to support all children with SEND are clear on children's plans, implemented quickly and regularly reviewed.